Jean-Luc Picard
Caption: Captain Jean-Luc Picard in 2364 Gender: Male Species: Human Born: 2305 Mother: Yvette Gessard Father: Maurice Picard Brother: Robert Picard Children: None Actor: Patrick Stewart, David Tristan Birkin, Tom Hardy Caption: Captain Jean-Luc Picard 2379 Jean-Luc Picard is one of the best-known Starfleet officers of the 24th century, famous for his service as Captain of the starships ''Enterprise''-D and ''Enterprise''-E. Early Career Picard was born in La Barre, European Alliance on Earth in 2305. As a child, he dreamed of adventure and exploration and caused "quite a stir" by leaving his family's generational vineyard and applying to Starfleet Academy. Although he failed to gain entry on his first attempt, he succeeded in his second attempt in 2323. Picard subsequently became one of the most outstanding Cadets in his class. (TNG: "The First Duty") Picard's career at the Academy was difficult, at best — years later, Picard would credit Academy groundskeeper Boothby with helping him develop a mature attitude. (See also: A.F.) Among Picard's friends at the Academy were Donald Varley, Cortin Zweller and Marta Batanides. Shortly after graduation in 2327, Picard's promising career nearly ended abruptly during a layover at Starbase Earhart. During a bar brawl over a rigged game of Dom Jot, he was stabbed through the heart by a Nausicaan, and had to undergo emergency surgery to replace his heart. (TNG: "Tapestry") As a junior officer, Captain Picard was the closest of friends with Walker Keel, and also became friends with Jack Crusher and his fiancé Beverly Howard. (TNG: "Journey's End") Picard was assigned as a flight controller aboard the [[USS Stargazer|USS Stargazer]]. Within six years, as a lieutenant commander, he assumed command of the vessel when the captain was killed on the bridge. Starfleet awarded him a promotion to the post of captain — making him one of the youngest Starfleet officers ever to attain the position. Picard remained in command of the Stargazer for twenty-two years. :It is not clear if Picard was promoted directly to captain, or if he was promoted to full commander but assigned a captain's responsibilities, and then promoted to the higher grade later. In 2355, the Stargazer was seriously damaged in a battle with an unknown enemy vessel, later discovered to be a Ferengi ship. Picard managed to destroy the enemy ship, but was forced to abandon the Stargazer. His actions during the battle where called into question by Starfleet prosecutor Phillipa Louvois, but he was exonerated by the inquiry board. (TNG: "The Battle", "The Measure of a Man") Captain of the Enterprise In 2364, Picard was assigned command of the newly-commissioned Enterpise-D, the most prestigious captaincy in Starfleet. He commanded the ship for seven years, participating in many important missions. Included amongst these where the defeat of the Borg invasions of 2366 and 2369 and his command of the fleet which blockaded the Klingon-Romulan border during the Klingon civil war. The USS Enterprise-D was destroyed in 2371 by a Klingon Bird-of-Prey. Picard was offered command of the Sovereign class USS Enterprise-E. He appointed the Enterprise-D's entire senior staff to the ship. After a one year shakedown cruise, the Enterprise-E's first mission involved yet another Borg attack; Picard was instrumental in defeating both the main invasion and an attempt by the Borg to prevent the formation of the United Federation of Planets by altering history. Later, Captain Picard traveled to the Ba'ku home world in the Briar Patch when it appeared that his Operations officer, Lieutenant Commander Data, had malfunctioned and assaulted members of the research team there. Picard was able to capture Data, and uncovered a plot by Admiral Matthew Dougherty and some in the Federation Council to re-locate the Ba'ku against their wishes. Picard rebelled against Dougherty, bringing word of his actions to the public. Picard continued in command of the Enterprise-E through 2379, when the ship was sent to Romulus after the coup by Shinzon. Shinzon was a clone of Picard created by a former Romulan government; they intended to replace Picard with a spy of their own. When the government changed the plan was abandoned, and Shinzon was sent to Remus to die. Instead he prospered, becoming a highly successful leader during the Dominion war. Shinzon used a thalaron radiation weapon to eradicate the Romulan Senate in 2379 and had planned to do the same to Earth; he needed Picard in order to repair faults in his own genetic makeup. In a pitched battle between the Enterprise-E, and Shinzon's flagship the Scimitar, Picard was eventually able to board the enemy ship and kill Shinzon. Picard's life was saved by Data, who transported him back to the Enterprise before firing on the Thalaron weapon, sacrificing himself to destroy the Scimitar. Chronology *2305: Born in La Barre, France, on Earth. *2322: Applied to Starfleet Academy for the first time and was rejected. *2323: Admitted to Starfleet Academy. *2327: Graduated Starfleet Academy and has to be implanted with an artificial heart after a fight with a Nausicaan. *2333: Assumes command of the Constellation class starship USS Stargazer. *2355: Participates in the Battle of Maxia against a Ferengi vessel. Picard invents a new tactical ploy to win the battle, later dubbed the "Picard Maneuver". *2364: Assumes command of the USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D). His first mission as Captain involves contact with the Q entity. *2366: Captured by the Borg and forced to become a member of the Borg collective, leading the invasion of the Federation as Locutus of Borg. This included leading the Borg victory over the Federation at the Battle of Wolf 359. Despite Borg control over him, Picard manages to relay information to the crew of the Enterprise-D which allows the Borg to be defeated. *2367: Prevents an attempt by the Romulans to take over the Klingon Empire by indirectly interfering in the Klingon Civil War. *2369: Discovers an ancient message left by the first humanoid beings in our galaxy. *2370: Blights the second Borg invasion of the Federation, led by individualized Borg drones under the Soong-type android Lore. *2371: Enterprise-D is destroyed over Veridian III. *2372: Assigned command of the Enterprise-E. *2373: Travels back in time to 2063 in order to defeat an attempt to the Borg to create an alternate timeline in which the Federation is never created. *2375: Rebels against Starfleet Admiral Dougherty in order to protect the Ba'ku. *2379: Travels to Romulus to meet Praetor Shinzon, a clone of himself. Kills Shinzon during the battle with the Scimitar. References *TNG: "Encounter at Farpoint" *TNG: "Coming of Age" *TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part I" *TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II" *TNG: "Redemption, Part II" *TNG: "The Chase" *TNG: "Descent, Part II" *TNG: "All Good Things..." *Star Trek: Generations *Star Trek: First Contact *Star Trek: Insurrection *Star Trek: Nemesis